


Medicine Man

by DaeMEon



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Awkward Sexual Situations, Dubious Consent, F/M, Het, Mass Effect Kink Meme, Medical Trauma, Oral Sex, Other, Xenophilia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-31
Updated: 2013-12-31
Packaged: 2017-12-04 15:00:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/712037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaeMEon/pseuds/DaeMEon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While on a routine mission, Garrus and Ashley get into an impossible situation that may or may not lead to awkward sex.</p><p>Written for a prompt on the kmeme.</p><p>(I never had to do this much research to write smut! This is sexual education, people!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Medicine Man

**Author's Note:**

> (Re-edited and fixed for a single-chapter version after some struggles with the formatting and fumbling with the ao3 engine. This was originally posted on May 7th, 2013.)

Ashley was violently sick. She was heaving and retching but nothing would come up. Her trembling hands sank into the mud, clenched into fists as the warm tropical shower soaked her hair and naked shoulders.

“Oh, fuck...” she groaned, shivering from the fever. She was a mess and she didn’t care any more. She pulled her hands out of the mud, shook most of it off and rolled back under the canvas, breathing heavily, resting her back against the cooling rock. She pulled up her legs and turned her head to look miserably at Garrus.

Garrus sat close to her, looking utterly flustered. He sat on the ground quietly, not really knowing what to do for a long time now. Ashley’s condition worsened in the last few hours alone, and she refused any help. Not that Garrus would know how to even comfort a human. She slapped his hand away when he tried to hold her shoulder earlier. He didn’t go near her in the last hour or so. He said sorry a couple of times out of politeness. He understood humans used this phrase to express sympathy in general. It was getting pathetic. So he just sat there, looking at Ashley suffer, quietly, very much like a bird.

Ashley was breathing hard. Her cheeks were flushed with the fever, hair sticking to her skull in damp locks, eyes red, pupils dilated. She had trouble focusing on the turian, but she tried anyway.

Still trying to catch her breath, the human closed her eyes and turned her head away with a distressed moan.

“Fuck.” Pause. “Okay.” she sighed. She was trying to gather her strength. When she opened her eyes again, she seemed stronger. She turned her head towards the turian and groaned like it hurt her to look at him. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

Garrus blinked, mandibles quivering.

 

 

 

* * * * *  
 **5 DAYS AGO**

 

The Kodiak glided out silently from the Normandy hangar bay and immediately started drifting towards the planet. Cortez switched on the autopilot which started calculations and preparations for atmospheric entry. As soon as they cleared the proximity of the Normandy, he radioed in.

Joker replied back and put the Normandy on a course to leave orbit. The ship was en route to Omega to pick up supplies and contact some informants. Shepard thought it would be best if Garrus would steer clear of Omega for a while. Archangel was not easily forgotten, and he didn’t want to compromise their mission. Garrus couldn’t agree with him more. Ashley was also iffy about setting foot on the station, her Alliance presence not exactly a welcome sight in Aria’s domain. Mordin just didn’t care. He lost interest in the station long ago.

So when the opportunity presented itself for Mordin to do some research on a nearby garden world, Garrus and Ash jumped on it and volunteered to go with the salarian, solving several of Shepard’s problems at the same time.

It would have been awkward to ask his two oldest friends to sit this one out and stay on the Normandy while they docked at Omega, Mordin got some serious firepower to protect him if things went pear-shaped, and he still had some muscle left on the crew to back him up on the space station, just in case.

After the Normandy cleared orbit, Cortez released the satellite that would be their eyes and ears and would act as a distress beacon if necessary. He let the computer do the approach, and the Kodiak started shaking and rattling as it entered the upper atmosphere. He switched on the comm.

“Starting the descent, ladies and gentlemen. Get ready.”

In the back of the shuttle, the salarian, the turian and the human all sat, strapped in, occupying themselves with cleaning guns, checking gear, or in Ashley’s case, writing a letter to her sisters on a datapad.

After a few minutes, the shaking and rumbling stopped, the thrusters guiding the Kodiak into a smooth trajectory towards the planet’s equatorial area.

When Cortez started the final approach, both Garrus and Ash started into to the cockpit. It was a bit awkward since Ashley came back to the Normandy. Technically she would be second-in-command after Shepard, but Shepard was not with the Alliance any more. Technically. Garrus on the other hand, while clearly not in the normal chain of command, was the one serving under Shepard for the longest time. They had an understanding. It was not clear, however, who was the boss on this mission.

“Cortez—” they said both at the same time after entering the cockpit. They exchanged glances, politely waiting for the other to give the go-ahead. Garrus cleared his throat, Ashley frowned and after several heartbeats she relented and gave a curt nod.

“How does it look?” Garrus asked, both turning their attention to the landscape.

Cortez was leveling the descent and starting a lazy turn towards the planned landing site.

“Nothing out of the ordinary. Humid tropical forest, low hills, the usual. Nothing on the radars.”

“Bring us closer and do a circle. Let’s take a look around before we land.”

Passing over the next hill they finally saw the abandoned base at the deep end of a low, rolling valley. It was in good enough shape. The jungle started to claim the site back, vines and roots growing on the walls, some crumbled here and there. The site was clear enough to land. Cortez started to put the shuttle into a low descending spiral and they did several passes around the two hills.

“Sensors are green across the board,” reported Cortez checking the readouts.

“There—” Garrus and Ashley pointed out the window at the same time. They both frowned in their own way. It was getting creepy.

“That ledge, over there. See?” Ashley continued, pointing at a rocky spot above the base in the hillside.

“Perfect for a lookout post.” Garrus finished, nodding. He tapped Cortez’s shoulder and straightened. “Put us down at the base.”

They started to walk back to Mordin, but almost got stuck at the door. Garrus let Ashley pass. It was frustrating.

On the ground it was a different matter. After taking the Kodiak down, Garrus took point, Ashley stayed with Mordin, and Cortez stood guard at the shuttle. They swept the base quickly, going from room to room, signaling clear when they finished. Like a well oiled machine. Just like old times. They met back in the hall, nodding to each other.

“Conditions acceptable. Power source still working.” Mordin declared, looking around, not really paying attention to the others. “Will set up workstation immediately.”

The rest of the day was spent with packing out gear, setting them up, establishing a perimeter around the base, placing the sensors and cameras for defense, and settling in. It went smoothly, they only talked when necessary, instructing each other, discussing the layout. They cleared some space for Mordin, hooked up the generators, barricaded up sections of the base they didn’t need. Good old times.

After dark, they retreated back into the hall from the insects and nightlife of the jungle, and went through the plan. The ledge they spotted was about a two hour hike uphill behind the base with clear vantage point over the whole valley. Not that they were worried about anybody attacking them, but they wanted to be prepared. The planet was on the fringes of the Terminus Systems, technically up for grabs, but colonization was halted after the collapse of the Batarian Empire. Massive weather fronts and extreme conditions outside the equator made this place less than desirable for massive colonization. There was nothing remarkable about the planet itself. Except for Mordin, who wanted to tap into the genetic research they did here before closing down. Besides, sitting around the whole week or so, listening to Mordin’s rambling was no life for a soldier.

The next day Garrus and Ashley backpacked up the hill. They found a trail that snaked between the trees. Gigantic boulders were thrown around between the lush vegetation. Apparently, the builders of the base had the same idea as they did because some parts of the trail were reinforced, and up on the ledge, remains of a previous lookout post were obvious. It was very humid between the trees, but out on the ledge, the breezes were a blessing. Ashley let out a relieved sigh, threw down her gear and started to peel off her soaked military tee. She spread her arms, eyes closed, enjoying the cool air. Garrus was huffing, too, putting his packs down and leaned against a boulder to catch his breath.

“Is this too much for a turian? I thought Palaven was hot.” Ashley asked, covered in a thin layer of sweat. She was pulling of the pants, too, putting her garments to dry on the hot rocks. She stood there in a pair of workout pants and a sports bra.

“Hot, yes. Humid, no.” Garrus replied between gasps, looking around. They could set some kind of a guard post here, close to the old one, at the foot of the boulder. Perfect.

Ashley was almost glowing. Pent up in military bases and spaceships made her edgy. She was burning up months if not years of tension. She practically bounced up the trail.

“Look, Garrus! A pond!” came the shout. Garrus blinked. He lost track of time enjoying the view, and checking for target practice spots.

Ashley stood on a boulder nearby, pointing at something behind it. Garrus reluctantly joined her on the rock and looked down. A small creek filled a natural rockbed with fresh water at the edge of the clearing, before it overflowed and disappeared between the trees. Just big enough to swim in it.

“No thanks. Turians don’t swim.”

Ashley blinked. “Really?!”

“Well yes— no— generally they don’t— okay, I don’t.”

Ashley laughed and shook her head.

They went back, radioed in, and sat down to eat their rations, discussing shifts, logistics and weapons. The usual stuff.

Garrus never saw Williams like this. The always formal, always reserved human usually behaved professionally. Career military, just like he used to be. Now she was like a tourist. Positively giddy. He doubted that he ever saw her in an outfit like this except when she was working out at the Normandy gym or sparring in the ring with one of the other soldiers. Usually she didn’t show this much skin.

Not that it bothered him. Human anatomy was different enough that he didn’t know what to look for in a human anyway. They were all so— round and curvy. Round muscles, shoulders, waists— not edgy, sharp, full of lines like the turians. And knowing Williams for a while now, he knew that she just didn’t care what aliens looked like, so she didn’t care how they viewed her. Humans were soft anyway.

They did target practice in the afternoon, lying down at the edge with their rifles and making a competition about hitting a tree, a branch or a rock somewhere in the valley. Ashley checked the water with the portable analyzer before going for a swim a couple of times during the hot afternoon. Cooled off she returned to the ledge, laid down on a blanket still dripping wet, and shot at some more trees in the distance.

It was good to see Ashley this happy, Garrus decided. She was too on the edge most of the time. Just like him. He still couldn’t relax after Omega. Maybe now a bit. Good times.

The way back to the base was trickier. It was getting dark, the air was cooling off, and there were plenty of insects. They didn’t bother Garrus, but Ashley was having a hard time. Cursing and slapping at her neck and arm, she was making a racket on the way down. The path was slippery, they lost their footings now and then. A few times, when Ashley lost her balance, she grabbed the nearest thing which sometimes turned out to be some thorny vine or some slimy, stinky plant. Ah, there she is, Garrus thought as Ashley got more and more frustrated.

A couple of days went by like this, Mordin doing his research, collecting samples, experimenting, hacking into half-dead mainframes mostly with the help of Cortez, who had the most patience around the eccentric salarian. They took turns at the lookout post: somebody doing a full watch, and the two others switching at midday.

Garrus found that Cortez was almost as bad company as Mordin, only the human talked a lot about people he lost, mostly his love. He was trying to be polite, but after a while, he just phased him out. The salarian was at least not depressed. Garrus usually slept when Williams and Cortez were on watch. Ashley was definitely the best companion. There were long silences. Blissful.

They occasionally talked nerdy about weapons and ships, and the good old days. Ashley would go swimming, take a bath in the sun naked, but returning shortly to take over and let Garrus relax. One day even the salarian came up to take a good, long swim in the lake. He was unbeatable. It was weird. And on the fifth day in Paradise, it all came crashing down.

In the afternoon, clouds were rolling in from the west, promising a proper rainstorm by evening. Cortez confirmed the prediction when he went down from his watch and checked the satellite readouts. He radioed back up to let them know. Williams patted Garrus’ shoulder and nodded towards the pond.

“I’m gonna take a quick last swim before it hits, okay?”

Garrus nodded, returning to calibrating the scope on his rifle. He heard her jump into the lake, water sloshing around, and then, not long after she was back and in a hurry. She didn’t dry herself off with the towel, just stormed into the camp and started digging into her backpack, cursing under her breath.

Garrus looked up at her curiously. Ashley looked nervous.

“I stepped on— something.” she blurted, digging out the medkit from the backpack. She sat down, opened the box and started dabbing her leg.

Garrus leaned closer.

“What was it?”

“I don’t know!” she hissed. She cleaned the blood from a small wound, the skin reddening around it, and she started generously pouring something on it before putting band-aid on it, all the while explaining nervously. “It was a— thing. Like a frog back on Earth. Small and squishy and with these creepy colors, bulging eyes— and this one had fucking spikes. I stepped on it. Eugh!” she exclaimed, shuddering. “I pulled out the spikes and washed off the thing in the water but it fucking stings. And itches.”

She was furiously digging into the medkit, checking vials, and popping a few pills into her mouth, swallowing them down with a few gulps of water from her canteen. She started to shiver.

Garrus was already on the radio.

“Mordin. We’ve got a problem.”

Thunder rolled across the sky and the clouds marched in relentlessly.

“Listening.”

“Major Williams apparently, uh, stepped on some animal. We think it may have been poisonous.”

There was a short pause at the end of the line.

“Applied standard emergency medications?”

“Yes, she has her medkit,” Garrus replied, a bit lost. Ashley was suddenly very anxious, pulling one leg up to her chest, checking her injured foot. Her eyes were darting around, her moves nervous. She was starting to panic.

The wind picked up and blew steadily, the clouds moving fast ahead of the lightnings.

“Describe specimen,” Mordin said.

“Um, amphibian, vivid colors. Spikes.”

“Searching database. Will get back to you. Check major’s vital signs periodically.”

And then Mordin signed off.

Garrus knelt next to Ashley, trying to figure out what to do in a situation like this. It’s not like it was a wound or anything, not that he could help with that. Williams was obviously in distress, shivering. She was still wet. Suddenly her skin looked rough, full of tiny spots. He hesitantly reached out towards her naked shoulder to touch it.

“Is this normal?” he asked hesitantly.

Ashley snapped up, turning her head towards him. She looked at her shoulders.

“It’s just goosebumps,” she snorted impatiently. Garrus blinked. Ashley sighed. “Normal. It means I’m cold,” she added returning to the medkit, reading small leaflets, checking bottles, packing everything back in place and closing the lid. “Shit.” she whispered, resting her forehead on her knee, trying to calm down.

Garrus slid back, clueless about what to do. Human physiology was totally different from turian, he didn’t even know where to begin. Her skin felt cold, but that could be completely normal. Turians had a higher body temperature than humans, so he wouldn’t know.

“Shit shit shit,” Ashley muttered and scrambled for the blanket she used to lay on at the ledge. Garrus finally caught up and handed her the blanket. She promptly wrapped herself in it, pulled her legs up and folded her hands on her knees. Only her head was visible.

“Shouldn’t you dress up?” Garrus suggested.

“Yeah, yeah, I will. I just need a minute to dry off and pull myself together,” she sniffed. Dark circles started to appear around her eyes. Or maybe her face got paler. Or both.

“Um, Mordin said I should check your vital signs—” Garrus said. He tried to be helpful. “Can you describe?”

Ashley shot a glance at him. At first it was an angry stare again, but she quickly caught on and sighed. She closed her eyes to focus.

“Uh, anxiety, elevated heart rate, cold. Slightly feverish, I think. And stomach pains, I suppose.” she smiled weakly. “Or I’m just cold and nervous and panicking,” she chuckled. Her shivers were getting worse. It was better to rest her chin on her knees, she decided, snuggling deeper into the blankets.

The air was getting more humid by the minute. The rain was not far now.

A few minutes later Mordin reported in. “Found data. Cause for concern. Describe major's status.”

Garrus picked up the radio, and keeping an eye on Ashley, he started talking. He listed the things Ashley said, adding coughing to the mix as he spoke.

“Found 134 species of venomous amphibians in region,” Mordin said. “Assuming major took broad spectrum medication?”

“Yes. And cleaned the wounds as well.”

“Any sign of nausea or vomiting?” asked the salarian. At that precise moment Ashley started to gag and spasm, quickly rolling to the side and promptly threw up.

“Uh, I think we can safely say we’re there.”

“Broad spectrum medication slows down reaction but not enough. Need to see specimen. Can you bring sample and major down?”

“We wouldn’t make it before the storm even if she could walk. It’s getting worse. The— thing. We don’t have any sample of it.”

Silence.

“Problematic,” Mordin said. “Need to narrow down toxic agent to synthesize cure. Suggest keeping her warm. If vomiting continues try to hydrate. Meanwhile checking major’s medical history. Report if situation changes.”

Garrus acknowledged and put the radio down. He felt dumb, unable to do anything. He needed to be useful. He shuffled closer to the shivering Ashley, who shrunk deeper into the blanket. Now she was too exhausted to care about dressing up.

“Williams. How is it? Can you hold out? The storm is coming.” Ashley looked at him, blinking. Her eyes were getting red and she seemed dizzy.

“Huh? Sure. For what?”

“I’m going to grab our stuff and set up a shelter. We might be stuck here for a while.”

“Not going anywhere” she replied groggily. Seeing Garrus tilt his head, she involuntarily chuckled. He did look like a bird at that moment. “I’ll be fine.”

“Right.”

Garrus went to pick up their gear, hoarded them to the boulder where they were sitting. Within a few minutes, he found two dried branches that seemed strong enough to do the job and pulling out the canvas from Ashley’s backpack he made a makeshift roof over them at the foot of the boulder. He made sure it was secure and went back under it to check up on her. She just finished throwing up the rest of her lunch.

“How is it?”

“Peachy,” she croaked. “My foot burns.” She peeked her foot out from under the blanket. Garrus knelt down. Her feet was red, and definitely swollen up to her ankles. He had no idea what was normal for a human, though. The five fingers he could get used to. Down here, there were not many hard angles either. He tentatively held her foot in one clawed hand and reached for the other. He looked at her for permission. When she nodded he pulled away the blanket. “Oh.”

“What?”

“It’s definitely swollen. About twice the size. How bad is that?”

Ashley groaned. “Geez, Big Bird, what do you think?” she hissed as she tried to pull her leg away from him, which just made it hurt more. “I need to put something cold on it.”

Garrus started looking around.

“My shirt” Ashley suggested.

Garrus nodded, picked it up from the rock it was drying on and went to dip it in the pond. He was back quickly, carefully taking her leg and wrapping it around her foot. Ashley was still shivering, but it seemed she was holding up better for now. She looked on quietly as the turian neatly wrapped her foot in the wet t-shirt with his three-fingered, clawed hands. It felt nice. For once, it was not her taking care of her sisters, or a disinterested medic patching her up after a battle. She looked up at Garrus as he finished. He looked back.

“How are you?”

“I’m— It’s— better,” she stuttered. “Th-thank you,” she added whispering before she tore her gaze away and leaned her head back against the boulder.

And then the sky fell down.

There was a cold gush of wind before it, and then it started pouring. Garrus slipped under the canvas, sitting down next to Ashley.

“It’s cold,” Ashley said, her lips turning a darker shade of purple. Her face color definitely changed. “I think my fever is going up.”

Garrus nodded. He needs to tell Mordin. But first help her. He settled down next to her comfortably, and started to peel off the blanket.

“Garrus. What—?”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her to his side, before covering both of them up with the blanket.

“Oh” Ashley gasped. “So warm—” she sighed and immediately tried to shuffle closer to the turian.

Her body was definitely warmer than before, Garrus realized as she pressed herself to his side. He didn’t find this awkward, and doubted that Ashley would have cared even if she wasn’t sick. It made sense to do this. Holding her shoulder he marveled at how soft and squishy humans were. No wonder they needed those armors. Still. He saw Ashley take a couple of hits on the battlefield and she was really tough. Garrus wondered how is that even possible.

They sat quietly for a while, the rain pouring down, quickly turning everything to mud. The radio crackled again.

“Mordin here. What is the situation?”

“Her fever is rising. Her foot swollen to twice the size. She is not vomiting now. She trembles.”

“Lucidity?”

Garrus looked down at Ashley and realized that she was looking at him. He didn’t know for how long.

“I’m still here, doctor,” Ashley replied.

“Military record shows went through dextro-amino desensitization treatment, correct?”

“Y-yes.” she replied, blinking at Garrus, shaking her head in bafflement. “During training. We ate turian food and then threw up for a couple of days. Why?”

“Narrowed toxic agent down to 64 species. High possibility of slow-acting venom. Good news, yes?”

Garrus and Ashley looked at each other.

“I guess,” she replied, Garrus holding the radio up.

“Means we have some time before irreparable nerve damage. Possibly a few more hours.”

Ashley snorted, shifting under the blanket, clinging close to the warmth of the turian.

“How is that good news?”

“You are not dead yet, major.”

They waited for him to continue, before they realized that was the answer. It was unnerving.

“S-so what does this have to do with turian food?” Garrus asked, while Ashley stared at the radio speechless.

“Possibility that d-a desensitization slows down poison effect.”

“So what, I should eat some turian food?”

“Negative. Wouldn’t be effective. Food would pass through system fast without significant absorption.”

Ashley shuddered.

“However it is highly possible that inducing anaphylactic shock would flush system with inflammatory mediators and histamine that counteract venom.”

They froze. Ashley reached out to grab the radio, pushing herself away from Garrus to sit up. Pressing one hand on his chestplate, she looked into Garrus’s eyes scared. Garrus, however, was occupied with the soft touch of a five-fingered hand on his chest. This never happened before. Not this close anyway. And because she was feverish, her touch was warm. Almost like a turian’s.

“Isn’t that dangerous, doctor?” she said, her voice shaky. “I could die, right?”

“Counteragent is epinephrine. Found in every standard Alliance medkit. Once going into shock, administer epinephrine.”

“This is crazy, Mordin.”

“Agreed. However. Vakarian is trained in basic military first-aid. He can help.”

Garrus nodded reassuringly. “You know how it goes, Williams. We received similar trainings. I can do this.”

Still looking at Garrus with a frown, shivering from the cold, Ashley nodded, and spoke into the radio.

“Assuming it works, how do you propose I go into anaphylactic shock, Mordin?”

“Health records indicate no affinity for anaphylaxis, standard methods ineffective. Desensitization rules out dextro-amino food. Only alternative is ingesting high dosage of dextro-amino proteins. Most efficient agent to induce shock. Even if body repels most, rest will do the job.”

Garrus and Ashley exchanged baffled glances. Ashley started to speak.

“But where on earth are we supposed to get turian prot—” she froze, her eyes going wide, mouth open, a look of shock and disgust on her face.

It took a while for Garrus to catch up. He stiffened, sitting up suddenly. Ashley’s mouth opened into a silent “Nooo!” as she pulled away from the turian and wrapped herself tightly in the blankets. Mordin went on.

“Suggest rectal absorption. Quicker. More efficient. Gastro-intestinal digestion is good too.”

Ashley lost her voice. She sat there, staring at Garrus, paralyzed from the mere suggestion. Garrus carefully reached for the radio.

“Wh—” he gave up and let out a nervous chuckle. “I think we got the shock part down already, doctor. Let me get back to you in a few minutes.”

“Of course. Will be waiting.”

Garrus switched off the radio and stared into the pouring rain.

A couple of minutes passed. Ashley sat like a statue, well, a shivering statue, wrapped in blanket, feeling like she was violated.

“I had no idea— I mean I don’t— How would is even—” Garrus tried to formulate a thought that would be appropriate for the situation. He couldn’t.

Ashley’s shoulder slumped, she shrunk smaller into the blanket.

“I don’t believe this” she whispered.

Time passed quietly. The rain was still pouring heavily, darkness descending over the valley. It drummed loud on the canvas. After a while Garrus pulled out the camping lamps from their backpacks and switched them on. Ashley was sitting in the middle of the small shelter, shivering. Finally she started gagging again and leaned out into the rain to throw up again. It was mostly bile. She was gasping for air.

Garrus knelt up, trying to hold her shoulder, while her head got soaked by the tropical shower. She felt his claws on her and shrugged them away with an almost hysteric growl. She took deep breaths and crawled back under the canvas, hands muddy, and sat down pulling herself as small as possible under the blanket.

Garrus was also getting a bit cold. When he tried to sit next to the human and pull the blanket away to slip under it, she just glared at him. He didn’t want to upset her more, so he gave up. After the next retching episode, Ashley gave up and reached for the radio. Garrus politely gave it to her, and she snatched from his claws.

“Mordin.”

“Yes.”

“This solution is obviously not acceptable. What are my chances?”

“Mathematical. Taking more generic medication provides no significant delay. Status will deteriorate.”

“Are you sure?”

There was a polite snort at the other end of the line.

“Science rarely 100% sure. In case you survive the night, good chances for recovery. Except in case of nerve damage. Then full recovery is unlikely.”

“How do I know, Mordin?”

“Further symptoms are high fever, delirium, loss of nerve functions and irreversible nerve damage. Unavoidable.”

Ashley sighed, resting her forehead on her knees for a second. “I’ll take my chances.” She dropped the radio down, leaning back against the boulder.

“Come on, Ashley. At least let me keep you warm,” Garrus offered. Ashley shot a dark glance at him, all the more prominent because she was visibly getting worse. Cheeks flushed red, but her skin was pale and the circles around her eyes were getting darker. She had trouble staying still.

“No way, turian” she replied with some effort. “You’re just trying to get into my panties,” she chuckled painfully, sitting up again, hugging her knees under the blanket, rocking back and forth.

“Give me a break. It’s not like I was suggesting anything. I don’t even—” he stopped and fell quiet.

Ashley stopped rocking. She turned towards Garrus.

“Don’t even what, Garrus?” she croaked. She was visibly in pain. “Don’t even find me sexy? Is that it?”

“Hey, I just—”

“Something wrong with me? Didn’t you get a good look at me all week, huh?” she said with a quivering voice.

“No, It’s— I mean you’re not—”

Ashley started laughing. It was supposed to be a laugh, at least, but sounded more like sobs, clenching herself tighter by the end.

“I’m sorry, Garrus,” she said and looked at him with pain in her eyes. “Just kidding.”

Garrus relaxed, chuckling nervously at first. Then he imitated a headshot and splattering of brains with his hands. One of the few things Joker showed him. It worked better with five fingers though.

 

Ashley smiled sadly, trying to laugh, and then her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed. He caught her swiftly with one arm and reached for the radio.

“Mordin. She passed out. What now?”

“High fever. Need to cool her body down.”

“Cool down? You told me to keep her warm.”

“Does not work with high fever. Boils blood. Cooldown and keeping consciousness important. Not much time left to make choice, Vakarian. Prepared to make it for her?”

Garrus snorted in disdain. “I’m not gonna— while she— never mind!” he snapped, turning off the radio. He needed to act fast.

He unwrapped her from the blanket, and gathered her into his arms, walking out into the rain. He rushed to the pond and carefully walked into it. He remembered where it was shallow enough for him to be safe. The water was damn cold. He lowered the human into the lake, kneeling down, keeping her head above the water.

In a second, Williams was awake, drawing a shocked gasp, arms and legs flailing, her head going under. She wormed herself out from his arms and sunk like a rock. He reached under her arms and lifted her out quickly, standing up.

Ashley was blinking and gasping, trying to shake her head as she grabbed the turian’s arm for support. Her nipples stood out like little peaks from her sports bra, the fabric of her shorts and top clung wet to her body, almost transparent. She felt naked, too.

Pushing away from Garrus she tried walking away but her leg buckled under her. She fell into the mud at the shore of the pond, but Garrus lifted her up again carefully. She was like a soft, soaked ragdoll in the claws of a veiny, angular bird of prey. She was starting to hallucinate, Garrus’ features getting blurry, changing shape. She reached out towards his face with an open palm, wide-eyed, touching his deformed mandible.

Garrus was holding very still. There was this usually strong, hard human female warrior hanging from his arms, weak and helpless, a bunch of soft curves, much like the asaris, dark hair clinging to her head like seaweed, and she was touching his scar. He didn’t want to move or confuse her even more. It was strange, those gentle, feverish fingers tracing the lines of his face.

Her eyes were tearing up, and Garrus never felt this lost and confused in his whole life. What was this supposed to mean?

Ashley started crying, the strength running out from her and tried to grab his arms as she slid down. He caught her, and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her back to hold her close.

“I’m sorry,” Ashley sobbed, probably not speaking to him, but to some hallucination. He replied nonetheless.

“It’s okay, Ash. Let me take you back.”

He put her down under the canvas, wrapped her shivering form in the blanket and sat back watching her. He was trying to keep her talking, keep her cool by soaking her pants in the pond and putting it around her neck. She was telling him about her family but she kept loosing focus and switching between her sisters and her father. Soon she was retching again, shaking violently, nothing coming up. Her hands were muddy from trying to grab into the earth for support.

“Oh, fuck...” she groaned, shivering from the fever. She was a mess and she didn’t care any more. She pulled her hands out of the mud, shook most of it off and rolled back under the canvas, breathing heavily, resting her back against the still warm rock. She pulled up her legs and turned her head to look miserably at Garrus. She had trouble focusing on the turian, but she tried anyway.

“Fuck.” Pause. “Okay.” she sighed. She was trying to gather her strength. When she opened her eyes again, she seemed stronger. She turned her head towards Garrus and groaned like it hurt her to look at him. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

Garrus froze. Ashley’s hand fumbled for the medkit, while she let the blanket fall off her body. She propped herself into a more comfortable position, pulled one leg up and motioned Garrus closer, pointing at the medkit.

He opened it for her and held it up. She fished out two plastic tubes in transparent bags. She was straining her eyes, trying to focus. She put the tubes into the turian’s claws.

“This way,” she grabbed one, putting her thumb on the release button at one end, and made a stabbing motion. “You push— push down— button. Okay?” She asked, breathing heavily, holding onto his arm. “You put it— here” she spread her legs and showed a point on her inner thigh. “Around here— muscle” she was panting. “Got it?”

Garrus nodded.

“I got it, Ash.”

Ash fell back to the boulder. “Good.” She flashed a weak smile at him, eyes half-closed. “Show me what you got— stud” she laughed bitterly, head rolling left and right, clawing at his pants, trying to drag it down.

“This is so awkward...” he muttered, helping her.

During their five days here, he never cared about her looks. It didn’t mean anything to him, except noting that even without armor, her moves were that of a warrior. Confident, predatory. Efficient. Ashley was a comrade, not a female, or a possible mate. Until now. Until her so alien, hot fingers touched him.

This felt wrong. Now, when for the first time she is not the strong soldier, now he sees more than just her graceful prowl.

“Uh— here” he took her wrist and guided it to his plates. Ashley’s eyes were trying to focus on the movement, her eyes wide, like she was staring in wonderment. As soon as her fingers touched his plate, both of them gasped.

That warm, soft hand, so gentle, more sensitive than a turian’s claw, exploring every little part of him. He was not sure any more, who was in control here. Although he guided her hand a little, almost like he was taking advantage of her, she wanted this, she told him what to do. Her hands just so gentle—

They gasped again as his cock slipped out, already getting hard, slightly moist, and her fingers wrapped around him.

“This is— so strange,” he gasped.

Ashley’s hand was slowly sliding up and down his shaft, her breathing labored, staring at the strange shape. It was pointy, and ridged, and all the wrong shape for her, but she seemed mesmerized. She spread her legs wider so he could kneel closer. She took him in both five-fingered hands, impossibly soft and smooth and as it wrapped around him, so accommodating. She slowly opened her mouth, well in advance of his cock getting closer, hands working him slowly.

“Give it to me—” she breathed, looking up at him.

That look was almost enough. He thought she was probably delirious, imagining somebody else in his place, which just made him squirm. He didn’t know what was going on in her head. Spirits, he didn’t know what was going on in is.

“Huhh, Ash— this is wrong—” he gasped. Ashley looked up at him.

“I know,” and her lips wrapped around the tip.

Garrus shuddered, his whole length surrounded by the hot, soft flesh of her hands and mouth, her fleshy tongue twirling around the tip. This was an unknown feeling for a turian, this was not possible back at home. That soft mouth! Spirits!

And the noises. The wet noise her lip made as she feverishly worked on the head, her moans resonating along his cock to his very core. He grabbed her skull in one taloned claw.

“Spirits, human” he gasped, her fingers rubbing up and down his ridges.

Ashley closed her eyes, clumsily working on the alien cock. “It tastes— different,” she sighed as she looked up at him again, spreading her saliva all over his cock. She was shivering, and her eyes were glazed over, hard to tell, what she saw. She slid down a little bit, and guided a taloned claw to her panties. She wanted him to pull it off.

“Ash, I don’t think—”

She hushed him, one hand grabbing him. He helped her slip out of her shorts, and he was back between her legs, those lean, smooth thighs spread, and her naked lap exposed to him. There was a tiny patch of fur the color of her hair above a perfectly curved mound, showing him the way.

Not that he needed it. Ashley guided him there with her hand wrapped around his length, and aligned the head up, parting the pink, damp folds of flesh with his tip. He never saw anything like this before. He was simply not interested, not even curious. But oh, that warm softness!

She gasped as he started slipping in, he couldn’t tell why. Was he hurting her? Was it good for her? How could he know? And besides, who was fucking whom? He stopped.

Ash moaned, her breathing labored, looking up at him, reaching her other hand towards his arm.

“Please, Garrus,” she whispered. “Please f—” she gasped again, and he felt her muscles squeezing him, pulling him deeper. He was gasping as well, feeling flesh strain around his cock.

“Ashley. This is not—-” he tried to phrase his doubts, but her hip was rocking, slipping him deeper into her tightness. Her flesh was not easily accommodating him, but she didn’t seem to be in pain from that. She was urging him to move his hips, her moves needy but weak. He felt the urge himself, wanting to sink his cock in her, but feeling reluctant at the same time. “Here goes our friendship,” he moaned and pushed.

Ashley gasped sharply and started to squirm, working her right leg folded up to her chest, then she lifted and rested it against his chestplate.

“Whoa! That’s— flexible!” he exclaimed out of breath from the pleasure of it. Seeing Ashley do this and press her soft leg against him made him dizzy. It was heavenly.

“God,” she moaned, feeling the ripples of his cock starting to move. It was painfully big and the wrong shape, but the movement was worth it, sending shockwaves of pleasure through her. “Guh, fuck me!” she gasped, pressing her left hand against Garrus’s right thigh to guide his pumping, pressing back harder if he went too deep. Every thrust, every pull made her gasp out louder, grabbing his arm with her other hand and looking deep into his eyes. “Take— me— huhh!”

Garrus was losing it. He tried to hold back, not to hurt her soft flesh, and not to take advantage of her, but this was just too good. He needed this. He grunted, moving in and out slowly. He wanted to see her naked. Completely naked. He grabbed the sports bra between her breasts and sank his claws into it as he pulled it away, shredding it apart easily, letting her breast bounce free, making her cry out when he tore off the last piece of clothing.

They slid down from the boulder, her right leg still on his chest, her back on the ground, her hands grasping around. Her whole body was glistening with rainwater or sweat, mud smeared on her torso and arms, as she squirmed around, feral. She was moaning loud, sobbing, muttering incoherently as the fever burned inside her.

Garrus felt her sex getting more slippery, softening up, his cock sliding in deeper as her flesh gave way. She was thrashing around weakly on his cock arms flailing on the ground. Now HE was fucking HER. She didn’t have the strength to pull herself off from his cock. But he had to pull out. His own body was almost scorching hot now from the whole exercise. He didn’t want to go deep anyway in fear of causing her physical damage. He pulled out his ridged cock from her, which made her cry out in a mixture of pleasure and pain.

He grabbed her head, and pulled her up, pushing his cock between her dry lips, her hot breath washing over his meat. She desperately hung onto his hardness, pushing him down to the back of her throat with a moan that made him explode into her mouth.

Ashley gasped, gagging, swallowing as much as she could, throat burning from the hot fluid. She was spent, collapsing back onto the ground, his cock slipping out of her lips with a wet pop, dripping.

Garrus steadied himself on the boulder, catching his balance, gasping and shuddering from the experience. Ashley’s leg slipped off his torso and dropped to the ground, the only sign that she was alive was her heavy breathing. His eyes now focusing he could see her completely for the first time. Her naked breasts round, firm globes of smooth flesh swaying, small nubs on top of them. She was so out of it, she didn’t even care how naked and vulnerable she seemed.

“Ash” Garrus whispered.

Ashley blinked, slowly turning towards him, rain soaking her hair, washing away his seed from her face. She tried to reach out for him.

Garrus pulled her back under the canopy, cradling her shoulder in his arm.

“You. Have to. Be ready,” she wheezed.

Garrus fumbled around, trying to find the epi pen.

“How do I know?” he asked still looking.

“You will know,” Ashley whispered.

Garrus tried to wrap her in the blanket, but she brushed his hand away.

“Too hot.”

So the turian held the human female, quietly, searching for the signs, any sign. She looked up at him, her gaze clinging onto his. She was scared. She was naked, muddy, too sick and very scared.

The tremors came soon, he felt her muscles vibrating.

“Don’t let me—” she tried to speak, but her breathing was already shallow, her throat closing. “Hold... me...” she gasped with her last breath before the air was cut off, her hands swelling up, skin reddening and she started shaking more violently. She stared at him in panic.

Garrus ripped off the packaging from the epi-pen with his teeth and stabbed the pen it into her thigh where she showed him. He pressed the button, there was a small hiss and that was it.

Nothing changed. She was turning blue, gasping for air, shaking like a leaf.

“Hold on!” Garrus growled, her hand squeezing his arm hard. “It’s gonna be fine.”

She didn’t believe him.

Seconds passed painfully slow, rain drumming around the turian and the human under the canvas. Everybody waited.

And then Ashley gasped. She took a long, deep, rasping breath, arching her back, as finally air flowed freely. She blinked rapidly, taking several more, loud breaths, holding onto Garrus while she regained control of her body. By that time she was sobbing, and she could not stop.

Garrus could only hope that this meant it was over, so he gathered her into his arms and pulled the blanket over them. He settled back against the boulder, and arranged her limbs and torso so she could absorb his heat. He rubbed her shoulder as she cried, all the tension, the panic leaving her. This was relief.

Garrus stared out into the dark, rainy jungle and tried to figure out what just happened.

 

 

 

* * * * * 

 

The next day they slept late to recover. Her clothes were in ruins, but she managed to dress up and look decent, if very crumpled and disheveled. Garrus packed their gear as Ashley watched him, and then carried her down most of the way. It was a long and exhausting descent. They didn’t say a word, just exchanging embarrassed looks, Ashley constantly blushing. He started to see it as adorable, but he didn’t dare to say it out loud.

Cortez went up for the rest of the gear. Mordin did a quick check up on her declaring the danger passed and suggesting a few days of rest for full physical recover. Garrus got busy with packing up the equipment and preparing for leaving the planet. The signal came the next morning, the satellite detecting the Normandy’s approach.

They didn’t exactly avoid each other, but kept to themselves as best as they could. Ashley needed rest, so she was sitting around a lot, gazing out into the jungle, only occasionally meeting the turian’s gaze and blushing.

Mordin was expressing fascination about the medical relevance, but Garrus could count on his confidentiality.

Cortez on the other hand was grinning like crazy the whole day, and when the others were out of earshot he would bump his fist against the turian’s shoulder.

“Garrus, you dog, you!” he smirked.

Garrus grabbed his collar and lifted him off the ground.

“Listen to me, marine,” he snarled, his voice resonating in his bones. “One word to anyone. ANYONE, and I’m gonna rip off your arm and beat you to death with it. Got it?” This was an other thing he learned from Joker. He snapped his lethal claws in front of his face.

Cortez stopped grinning permanently.

“Yessir.”

When the Kodiak docked back with the Normandy, everybody was very quiet. Shepard waited for them when the shuttle doors opened, only to be greeted with short nods and muttered greetings.

“Ash!” Shepard smiled. “Had a relaxing time down there?” he asked in genuine interest. He knew she needed some R&R. Ashley looked up and shot him a glance that clearly indicated she would break arms if anybody tried to speak to her. She grabbed her gear and walked off without an other word. That was highly unusual.

“Garrus!” he turned toward the turian cheerfully, trying to play off the awkward exchange with Williams. “Shot anything interesting down there?”

Garrus stopped, looked at him wordlessly. His mandibles quivered. Then he snapped his head away like a bird and walked out, dragging his rifle.

Mordin was Shepard’s last chance. The good doctor was picking off the smaller boxes from the shuttle and checking them.

“Mordin!” Shepard was getting desperate. “What the hell happened down there?”

The salarian looked down at him with a triumphant smile.

“Science!”


End file.
